Growing up in a small hometown in Michigan it never occurred to me I might be 'called to duty', to provide a service to the military but such is the innocence of youth that there were many things of which I had no inkling that were to befall me.
I was christened Veronica by my parents (although Daddy often used to call me 'little Miss pretty blue eyes') but I can only remember ever being known as Roni by everyone and anyone else, a name which has stuck ever since the day someone had the idea.
Looking back I guess I had what might be called an ideal childhood. I lived in small town bubble with surrounding countryside and fields as my playground. School was a delight and I breezed through without achieving any great academic distinction but that didn't distract from my being regarded as a popular student by my teachers and most of my peers. Yep, life for that young girl was pretty good.
I suppose I paid more attention to boys than my books and a key to my popularity was being more interested in the opposite sex rather than listening to my teachers. There were a few boys who caught my interest but it was Robert who seemed to be forever as we went through Junior, Puberty and Senior High together. Growing up and beyond I found he was just as fascinated as me by the whole sex thing and we became very close as we explored things that grown-ups were reluctant or too embarrassed about to tell us.
He was a bit of a 'bad boy' but it was Robert (or rather Bobby as he was always called) who became my fuck of choice and we used to spend many an afternoon when we should have been revising or doing some other school-related activity getting to know his 6" cock instead. I suspect that his mother knew what was going on but he was such a 'Momma's Boy' that nothing was ever mentioned by her and certainly she would never hear of a word being said against her dear boy so he was allowed to get away with doing exactly as he wished. It was pretty much the same with his younger brother but at the time I didn't have too much to do with him; that came later!
Bobby wasn't a particularly imaginative lover, indeed his fucking technique was just as shallow as the rest of his life and he really didn't make much of an effort. However, at the time I didn't know any better as his was only the second cock I had let into my pussy. I never did tell him about that previous time, a hurried, fumbled affair under the bleachers which for me didn't exactly count as being the significant moment when the bubble of my virginity was burst by a little prick.
Somehow Bobby and I became an item and in my naΓ―ve mind I had notions of romance and a conviction that we could be a 'happy ever after' married couple. I was never ever sure what went through his laid back mind but shortly after graduation I had a pregnancy scare so we hurriedly married to fend off any ensuing scandal and moved in to share house with his parents. (I had my period shortly after!)
Neither of us had given much thought to 'what happens next' and the reality of his lack of qualifications and the wherewithal of getting a good job became a bit of a shock and, dare I say, we both had thoughts that had we spent more time studying rather than fucking then perhaps we might be in a better place but these thoughts were just silently acknowledged and left unsaid. However, it had to be said that if nothing else Bobby was always the optimist and had a positive outlook that 'something would turn up' and he was right.
I guess what caught his attention was that the nearby Great Lakes had the biggest Navy training base in the US and given its close proximity to us (albeit it was on the other side of Chicago) their presence was hard to ignore especially as they had frequent recruitment drives even in our small town. Indeed, the military was often toted as a career choice at school and I'm guessing that the exciting world that the Navy promoted must have stuck in the back of his mind. So it was that after another week of doing low-paid casual work that he came home and announced that 'we' were joining the Navy. I really didn't have any say in the matter but everyone in the household was secretly relieved that this meant we would ultimately be moving out and so we all congratulated him on his brave decision.
I had to stay living at home with his parents while Bobby went through 'Boot Camp' but it was a proud day when he finally completed his basic training and we all went to Great Lakes Naval Station and saw his passing out parade. He looked so fine in his dress uniform and for the first time I thought that we would be making something of our married life.
After his graduation from Boot Camp we were posted to the naval base in San Diego where he worked in the logistics center whilst awaiting assignment to a ship. I don't suppose it was the most demanding of jobs for, as I indicated, Bobby was never destined to become the brightest sailor in the fleet. However, I was happy that we had been allocated an off-base house and I did my best effort to make it a home for the two of us. Unfortunately Bobby was never going to be the home-making kind and he seemingly preferred to be spending his free time getting into all sorts of trouble with his like-minded shipmates. Looking back I should have left him then to get on with it but I loved him despite all his faults and I stuck with him and went with him to wherever the Navy sent us for the next 4 years.
If Bobby could lay claim to any notable achievement then I guess it would have to be that he finished his service career in the same rank as he was awarded when he passed out of Boot Camp. As a consequence of his frequent misdemeanors he was eventually discharged still as a basic E-1, that is, Seaman Recruit. Meanwhile his brother who had followed him into the military (the Marines) a year later had had a stellar career and was discharged as a Sergeant, an E-5. Bobby dismissed their differences as being due to his brother being a brown-nose, a suck-up and a yes-man to his superiors; any excuse rather than recognizing that the truth that his brother was a better man than him and his own lack of progress was purely due to his own inadequacies... but that was Bobby all over, it was always someone else's fault. Looking back I suppose it didn't do anything for his self-esteem when I got excited to hear of yet another promotion that his brother had been awarded!
However, my interest in his brother's achievements and that of other men on base was not entirely an appreciation of how well their career path was going, it was more related to their interest in me and the fact that I was being 'taken care of' whenever Bobby was away on-ship or deployment. The reality was that I looked forward to Bobby going away for it gave me free rein to indulge in some 'me-time' and to enjoy the company of men more capable, more considerate, more amiable than my redneck Bobby. I mean, I was a young wife; I had feelings; I was constantly horny and I wasn't getting the attention I deserved when Bobby was at home. It wasn't his fault and for all his faults I still loved him dearly but I had needs that demanded to be served and it was a relief to me in more ways than one when he was sent away to do his duty elsewhere.